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4 Comments

This is a very high priority position. LA and vicinity is underserved and with the loss of Phil Phillips in Ventura (reitred) and the increase in pests in LA it is timely

Posted May 29, 2012 11:02 AM by JIM dOWNER

2

This Advisor will be a key component to UC IPM's burgeoning and sorely needed urban IPM program. Specifically, as the Bay Area IPM Advisor focusing on urban pests, I need help in organizing statewide programs. The structural pest control industry has been historically under-served by UCCE. Now that urban ecology and urban interface issues are taking center stage in the state, urban IPM has taken on a new importance.

Posted May 29, 2012 11:09 AM by Andrew Sutherland

3

California leads the nation in many categories, including number of people, agricultural productivity, and technological innovations. We also are leaders in innovations and services to protect our crops, people, and buildings from pests. Regrettably, the pests that plague our many and varied stakeholders are both endemic and invasive. There are thousands of pest situations that involve agriculture, forestry, water habitats, natural areas, and urban ecosystems that are composed of buildings, contents, people, and surrounding landscapes.

Historically and through the decades, one can argue that UC has better served agriculture and forestry in creating an Agricultural and Natural Resources (ANR) continuum from cooperative extension (CE) advisors in counties to CE specialists and agricultural experiment scientists (AES) at the Berkeley, Davis, and Riverside campuses to address pest management needs. For Southern California, where more than half of the State’s population and majority of structural pest problems and needs exist, the continuum is incomplete and consist of a single recent academic hire that has a split instruction/research (IR) and CE specialist appointment. A vision and continuum is needed that focuses on the evaluation and development of IPM methods and practices for structural pests. With the resurgence of bed bugs in the State, threat of invasive pests to our structures and building contents, and need for effective IPM methods and practices that are compatible with water and air quality monitoring, the need for the full ANR continuum is greatest for Southern California. The awarding of the IPM Entomology-Urban Southern California position would fill this current void. I am supportive of this new position and will ask other interested stakeholders for their show of support.

Posted Jul 12, 2012 4:32 PM by Vernard Lewis

4

With the recent retirements of Mike Rust, Rick Vetter and Don Reierson at UCR, Southern California is lacking resources directed toward urban IPM. We've seen an increase in pests from the past, such as fleas and bed bugs, as well as a lack of practical IPM tools for other pests, so this position can be very helpful to the pest management industry.